Annonce

that have soared since testing in Feb

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Will Power and Penske Racing are back in a familiar position at Barber Motorsports Park: Starting in the pole position at a track where they dominated until last year. Power, a two-time winner, came out on top in a Fast Six qualifying Saturday that featured five drivers from IndyCar powerhouse teams Penske, Andretti Autosport and Ganassi Racing. "I was thinking it was going to be very tough to beat the Andretti boys, theyve been so fast around here," Power said. "But I was able to do one lap each time on my tires, so I had two shots at it. It was awfully close. Nothing between everyone. "But very happy to be on pole. It was definitely the aim. Puts you in a much better position to keep out of trouble on the start." There was plenty of trouble at Long Beach two weeks ago, and Scott Dixon was the only Fast Six driver not caught up in it. Most of the drivers have cleared the air, but Simon Pagenaud has said the tone might have been set for the season when he was spun from behind by Power. Ryan Hunter-Reays attempt to pass Josef Newgarden on a tight turn also collected seven drivers, including Andretti teammate James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ont. Power expects some clarification of what constitutes "clean racing" at the pre-race drivers meeting with race director Beaux Barfield. "What happened between Pagenaud and myself, I feel bad," the Australian driver said. "He had every right to be really angry. "I think the payback system is not going to work very well for us with these cars and the tracks we go to. It will become dangerous. Well talk about it in the drivers meeting, come up with some compromise." Mike Conway won the tension-filled race at Long Beach but will start in the 21st spot. Hinchcliffe qualified second, as he did at Long Beach, while defending champion Ryan Hunter-Reay starts third. Hinchcliffe was stranded beside the track for most of last years race after damage on the first lap. He also started on the front row in 2012 and finished 12th. "Kind of feels like always the bridesmaid, never the bride," Hinchcliffe said. "Its my sixth front-row start and never had a pole yet." Newgarden is fourth and his team with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing might as well represent the underdogs in the group that also includes Ganassis Scott Dixon and Penskes Helio Castroneves. Power and Castroneves combined to claim the pole and the win in each of the first three years at the track. For Power, thats three pole starts in five years at Barber. Hunter-Reay broke the teams stranglehold last year, starting and finishing first. Much of the weekends buzz has been about the impact of temperatures that have soared since testing in February, making for a slicker track. "Everybody is going to be swatting at flies the whole day in the car," Hunter-Reay said. "Trying to keep it on the racetrack is going to be tough. Were all going to have that. "I think it should be a pretty interesting race because of it. I think its anybodys race. " The only potential drama in qualifying came when Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais lost his fastest two laps for interfering with Hunter-Reay in the second session. Hunter-Reay said Bourdais team didnt alert their driver that he was coming up behind. "He was in the third gear or second gear in a six-gear corner and he was coming in that lap," Hunter-Reay said. "I know Bourdais; hes pretty switched on. So either he did it intentionally or he had no idea I was there, and it was the latter. He said his team didnt tell him. "Its all right. We still ended up in the Fast Six, so no big deal." Dixon was in contention late in Long Beach before he stopped for fuel as a precaution. Now, hes seeking to break through at Barber, where he has been the runner-up in each of the first four races. "I think two of the second-place finishes we had before were hard-earned and we were pretty happy with it," he said. "The other two we lost on a last pit exchange or a strategy issue." Juan Pablo Montoya starts eighth, his best qualifying spot since moving from NASCAR back to open-wheel racing this season. "Were gaining on it," Montoya said. "I think we have a really good race car and its amazing because every practice is better. Every qualifying is better. Its just a matter of getting the hang of it." LONDON -- Despite a ruling damaging to his already tarnished image, Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone won a multimillion-dollar case at Londons High Court Thursday relating to the sale of F1 in 2005. The case was dismissed but the judge said it had nevertheless been a corrupt deal and questioned Ecclestones honesty. "Even ... making allowances for the lapse of time and Mr Ecclestones age, I am afraid that I find it impossible to regard him as a reliable or truthful witness," judge Guy Newey said. A former F1 shareholder, German media company Constantin Medien, had sued Ecclestone and other defendants for up to $144 million, claiming F1 was undervalued at the time of the sale to investment group CVC Capital Partners. The 83-year-old Ecclestone was accused of entering into a "corrupt agreement" with German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky to facilitate the sale of Formula One Group to a buyer chosen by him. The High Court said the deal was corrupt, but ruled that Constantin Medien did not lose out as a result. "No loss to Constantin has been shown to have been caused by the corrupt arrangement with Dr Gribkowsky," the judge said in his conclusions. "That fact is fatal to the claim." During the trial, which ran from October to December last year, Constantin Mediens lawyers said that payments totalling about 27 million pounds ($45 million) were made to Gribkowsky at the instigation of Ecclestone. Gribkowsky, who was in charge of selling German bank BayernLBs 47-per cent stake in F1 to CVC, hhas already been found guilty of corruption, tax evasion and breach of trust and is serving an 8 1/2-year prison sentence.dddddddddddd Ecclestone acknowledged during Gribkowskys trial that he made the payment to avoid being reported by the banker to authorities over his tax affairs. "The payments were a bribe. They were made because Mr Ecclestone had entered into a corrupt agreement with Dr Gribkowsky in May 2005 under which Dr Gribkowsky was to be rewarded for facilitating the sale of BLBs shares in the Formula One group to a buyer acceptable to Mr Ecclestone," the judge said. Constantin said it would appeal the decision. "The judge ruled against Constantin essentially on technical grounds -- including extremely complicated questions of German law which is the governing law in the case -- and Constantin will be appealing those findings," said lawyer Keith Oliver, head of commercial fraud litigation at Peters and Peters Solicitors. Ecclestone is also facing trial in Germany. He is charged with bribery and incitement to breach of trust connected with the payment to Gribkowsky. The trial will begin on April 24 and is set to run until Sept. 16. Bribery convictions can result in prison sentences ranging from three months to 10 years in Germany. Ecclestone said earlier this month he is expecting the case to be thrown out before the trial starts. Ecclestone has stepped down as a member of F1s holding company board of directors pending the outcome of the trial but continues running the sport. 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